Italy’s foreign ministry investigates hacking attempt

Italy’s foreign ministry said today it is responding to a hacking attempt after documents identified as genuine were posted online, La Repubblica reported.

In a blog post called “Foreign Affairs Ministry You Have Been Hacked,” the hacking group Anonymous and another group, AntiSec Italy, claimed to have successfully hacked the ministry. The blog post was addressed to Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano and the head of the national magistrates association.

The blog was published on a website called cyberguerrilla.org, to which documents labeled as those from the ministry were also uploaded. They ranged from Excel documents with hundreds of email addresses to tables with expense and accommodation records.

The blog asserts that the stolen data is “uncensored,” Reuters reports.

In a statement, the Italian foreign ministry, Farnesina, said the appropriate authorities are investigating. “Following a hacking attempt against the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, a complaint has been lodged before the competent authorities and an investigation is already underway.”

The attack follows a sustained hacking attempt in 2016, when the foreign ministry was hacked and infiltrated for four months before being detected. Italian authorities suspect Russian hackers were responsible for last year’s attack.